All Hats Don’t Fit Entrepreneurs – Customizing Your Business/Side-Gig Around You!

A common misperception is that entrepreneurs think they have to perform all the duties in their business. They think they can, but rarely consider if they’re good at it. Understand that starting your own business is “personal.” It is humanly impossible to be objective about yourself and your abilities.

It starts with the “Self-Perception Theory.” Proposed in 1967 by psychologist Daryl Bem, it suggests that people develop attitudes and opinions by observing their own behavior and drawing conclusions from it.  For example, let’s say you’re a fan of classic rock music. According to the self-perception theory, you didn’t decide that you like classic rock music because you think it’s the best type of music or because listening to it makes you feel good. You decided that you like classic rock music based on the fact that you listen to it a lot. Successful business owners learn how to identify and leverage their strengths and the strengths of others to grow their business. By identifying the needs of your business first, you will be able to:

• Identify your specific strengths 
• Create your specific role/responsibilities within your business
• Identify the strengths/duties you will need to outsource

This is the perfect time to look at what successful entrepreneurs have done and are doing that leads to that success. I will be hosting Grow Your Business Now! on Wednesday, September 30 at 7 pm CT. Join me and industry experts as we share our secrets to experiencing exponential growth in your business!  

First, where do you begin?  

The best way to start is to write down all the roles that are played in your business. For example, if you are considering starting any business, you have foundational legal matters to consider and will either need to hire an attorney or use online legal resources to help you set up your legal business name, where to form your business, type of business structure, and file your business formation papers.

Next, setting up your website. Are you technically astute or graphically challenged? Do you feel like investing your time in what might be a pretty steep learning curve? When it comes to sales and marketing, are you uncomfortable discussing or asking people to pay for your services? If so, you might need to consider hiring sales and marketing help or connect with online networking groups that can share their experience and guide you to alternative solutions that take you out of the direct-sales position. When you do make a sale, how will you keep track of those sales and expenses? Are you the type of person that’s organized? Do you have the patience to keep track of those receipts? If you feel that life’s too short and the last thing you want to do is spend time scanning or recording receipts, you may want to consider a virtual assistant.  

It’s time to think differently about how we do business today. We can’t and don’t have to be all things to all people. As humans, we have choices. When starting your own business be strategic. Invest in self-mastery and learn your strengths to decide what role(s) you should play in your business and outsource what you can to help grow your business. Although published in 2007, the famous author, Tim Ferriss, wrote a great book, The 4-Hour Work Week. It’s a great resource for creating a mindset of outsourcing and thinking differently about how you can do business today.

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